Turtle Bay is not toying around with “Toytopia.” The new exhibit, which opened Saturday and runs through Jan. 7, is not just packed with toys, it’s full of fun facts about toys, the history of toys and interesting meditations on playing with toys.
Mostly, though, it’s toys.
Photos by Jon Lewis.
Kids are going to feel like they were handed the keys to the candy store. Their parents are going to be transported back in time when Monopoly and Mr. Potato Head (which originally required an actual potato for full enjoyment) were all the rage and an Etch-a-Sketch was high-tech.
Immersive and highly interactive, “Toytopia” focuses on the past century of toy making with an emphasis on who made them, why they hold such a big part of our heart and what happens when we play with them.
“Toytopia” was produced by Stage Nine Exhibit Design with the goal of giving kids of all ages a chance to reconnect with their favorite toys; the younger set can learn about the toys their parents and grandparents enjoyed while the older generation can spend an hour or two basking in the nostalgia surrounding the simple pleasures of Lincoln Logs and model railroads.
There’s plenty to learn as well and Turtle Bay’s education department is developing curriculum tied to the exhibit that will accompany it on stops to other museums, fairs and events, according to Julia Cronin, Turtle Bay’s curator of collections and exhibitions.
Cronin said the exhibit offers a chance to contrast structured play with unstructured play; explore how toys and games inspire invention and creation; learn how toys and games are tied to particular time periods (i.e. the board game Monopoly is tied to the Depression); and what some toys are worth and why people collect them.
People can come in and play, reminisce about favorite childhood toys or simply revel in the joy of watching others play. “Everybody in the family will find something,” Cronin said.
The exhibit includes iconic toys like Legos (and interesting trivia about the ubiquitous building blocks, such as the fact Lego is an abbreviation of the Danish words “leg godt,” which translates to “play well”) and some of the earliest video games.
The roles toys played in movies is covered in “Toytopia” and kids (of all ages) are invited to slip off their shoes and take a walk on a giant keyboard similar to the one featured in the Tom Hanks movie “Big.” There’s also a “Zoltar” fortune-telling machine from the same film.
Also sure to be popular is an animation station that allows visitors the chance to produce their own stop-motion movie with toys.
The exhibit gives a nod to the role of model trains with a 9-foot-tall helix-shaped dual railroad track and two other model railroad displays. Aspiring engineers can busy themselves at kid-sized model railroad tables and learn about railroad sounds by pushing buttons.
Turtle Bay Exploration Park is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is $16, adults; $12, children and seniors. Specials include “Senior Wednesdays” ($6 for seniors 65 and older) and SolarShare First Fridays ($5 from 5 to 8 p.m.)
Jon Lewis is a freelance writer living in Redding. He has more than 30 years experience writing for newspapers and magazines. Contact him at jonpaullewis@gmail.com.
